iFD blog

iFD’s 100-Year-Plus List: Putting the Fortune 500 to Shame

Did you know that the average lifespan of a Fortune 500 company fell from 61 years a half century ago to just 18 years by 2010? That finding, reported by the magazine in 2014, came from research conducted by Richard Foster, a Yale School of Management professor and co-author of the book “Creative Destruction.”

Such findings make the fact that the foodservice distribution industry boasts several companies that have passed the 100-year mark impressive, indeed. Many are still family-owned and –operated and all have seen and contributed to amazing advancements in the industry. Here’s our list of 12 companies that have passed the 100-year milestone.

A. Curtze, Eerie, Pa. est. 1878

Performance Food Group, Richmond, Va., est. 1885

Pate Dawson-Southern Foods, Goldsboro, N.C., est. 1885

Feesers, Inc., Harrisburg, Pa., est. 1901

Merchants Foodservice, Hattiesburg, Miss., est. 1904

Pocono ProFoods, Stroudsburg, Pa., est.1905

Ben E. Keith Foods, Fort Worth, Texas, est. 1906

Ginsberg’s Foods, Hudson, N.Y, est. 1909

Testa Produce, Chicago, est. 1912

Wood Fruitticher, Birmingham, Ala., est. 1913

Hata & Company, Honolulu, est. 1913

Jordano’s Foodservice, Santa Barbara, Calif., est. 1915

The history of these companies should be preserved for posterity. We can help.